T

he standoff over the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin’s building permit in Bogor, West Java, may be drawing to an end, but with the caveat that a mosque must be built adjacent to the church.

The “win-win solution” came after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Advisory Council and the National Defense Council (Wantannas) brokered a month-long negotiation between GKI Yasmin and the Bogor municipality administration, which ended on Wednesday.

“We gladly welcome this significant development. Building a nearby mosque would turn the conflict into a symbol of religious tolerance,” a member of the Presidential Advisory Council, Albert Hasibuan, told The Jakarta Post after the mediation meeting on Wednesday.

Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto, who again skipped the meeting, sent an official letter stating that he would accept the mosque solution to the GKI Yasmin saga.

Albert said that he was surprised by Diani’s approval, given that the mayor had long history of “accommodating” the aspirations of Muslim hard-liners who have been calling for the church’s closure since 2008.

In the letter, Diani claimed that he had come up with the proposal last year.

GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging said that he was also taken by surprise by Diani’s move.

Bona was also optimistic that the stand-off would end soon.

“I heard that Pak Harun is preparing a meeting with the Bogor mayor in the near future. Hopefully it will concern technical matters, such as the exact location of the church and the land procurement, as well as the financial issue, which I hope will soon be settled,” Bona told the Post, referring to Lt. Gen. Yuniarto Harun, the secretary-general of the Wantannas, who also attended the Wednesday meeting.

Bona said that GKI Yasmin could accept the “win-win” solution and that he had heard the proposal had been floated by the Wantannas over the past few weeks.

“The idea has been discussed among members of our congregation. We can accept it. The most important thing for us is to have our constitutional rights guaranteed and we can go back worshipping at our church again,” Bona said.

Bona said that the proposal could end up symbolizing religious tolerance in the country.

“The idea is not bad, inspired by the existence of the Jakarta Cathedral, which sits across the street from the Istiqlal Mosque,” he said.

These places have long been since seen as symbols of the country’s religious tolerance, although what has transpired in Bogor since 2009 undermined those symbols.

Diani has continued to prevent the opening of GKI Yasmin despite a Supreme Court ruling that stipulated the congregation had the right to build their church in the area.

The mayor has been seen as accommodating demands from hard-liner groups that have bullied members of the congregation convening every week for their Sunday service.

Groups like the Reform Movement (Garis) and the Muslim Communications Forum (Forkami) have managed to disrupt Sunday services.

With the agreement, it was left to Diani to deal with the hard-line groups, Albert said.

On its website, Forkami said it would support the new proposal. “Upholding the law and building mosques is our business, Muslims. What are you thinking, Albert Hasibuan, who is ‘coincidently’ a Christian? There are two mosques nearby. Do you want Muslims to fight each other?” Said the statement, posted on April 17.

Director of the Wahid Institute, Yenny Zannuba Wahid, lauded the plan. “Sometimes things like this are necessary to settle such a prolonged issue,” she said.